The Port of Seattle and King County announced plans Tuesday to give the county ownership of a 47-mile suburban train line and the port control of Seattle's secondary airport, which is now county-owned. The stakeholders need to tread carefully.
Consolidating management of the region's airports makes sense. Currently no fewer than four governments control the major airports closest to Seattle, leading to competition that doesn't benefit taxpayers or travelers. Look at King County's attempt last year to lure Southwest Airlines from port-owned Sea-Tac, a move that would have added to road traffic and hindered the airport's regional role.
Unfortunately the latest plans may waste the valuable rail corridor, a 100-foot-wide swath that could easily accommodate a multi-use path alongside a commuter rail operation for much of its length. King County Executive Ron Sims seems focused on ripping up the rails to build a bike path, which would be a personal legacy, according to an earlier press release, but wouldn't significantly improve the region's mobility. Instead, retooling the train corridor could dovetail with Sound Transit plans for light rail and buses to serve job centers on the Eastside, and with additional commuter trains south of Seattle. Parcels that don't fit could be sold to help pay development costs.
Those details seemed far away during the announcement Tuesday. When asked what the deal would cost, according to the Seattle P-I, Sims said: "A lot. Wow, I don't think we've ever...I don't even know how to start counting. Hundreds of millions of dollars."
There are still many pieces that need to come together for the deal, which also involves other property and rail lines. But the focus needs to be on improving the mobility of the region and on getting long-term value for taxpayers, not the vanity of another bike path.